Abstract

This study evaluates a heat exchanger design that combines the advantages of fractal systems, known for their efficiency in fluid transport, with sinusoidal channels, recognized for enhancing heat transfer through mixing. Numerical simulations are conducted in ANSYS FLUENT under laminar flow conditions (300 <= Re <= 900), examining configurations with amplitudes of 0.04, 0.05, and 0.06 mm, and 2, 4, and 6 waves in a fractal design with two branching levels. The key results indicate that, for a fixed number of branches, increasing the Reynolds number and the number of waves enhances heat transfer but penalizes fluid mechanics due to increased viscous irreversibilities. For instance, the configuration with six waves and an amplitude of 0.06 mm achieved a 9.7% improvement in heat transfer compared to a baseline fractal channel with straight walls but required a pumping power of 6.65 W compared to 1.86 Win the baseline design. On the other hand, when comparing systems with and without bifurcations, the bifurcated system consumed 36% less power due to reduced friction and volumetric flow. This paper suggests that the combination of fractality and sinusoidal channels has the potential to balance heat transfer and power consumption, improving thermo-hydraulic efficiency.